Working Distractions
by SamCyberCat
Summary: The only thing that Dimitri cared about was working on the time machine and no help that Bill could hire was going to change that. How soon Dimitri realised he was going to eat those words. One-sided Dimitri/Claire.


Notes – Written for the PL Winter 2011 Exchange over at the layton_exchange comm. on LJ, for Chaichameleon. I went with the second prompt, "Dimitri and Claire in an awkward situation". Hopefully this will be awkward enough. Set sometime prior to the flashbacks we see in the third game, when the two of them and Bill were working on the time machine.

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><p>"I don't see why you're making a big deal out of this."<p>

Dimitri hadn't even pulled himself out from under the machine to talk to Bill. He was far too busy to stop what he was doing, so if Bill wanted to chat then he'd just have to make his points while Dimitri picked up the slack that Bill was creating by not working.

"This is exactly why I'm bringing it up," Bill grumbled, tugging the board Dimitri had been lying on out from under the newly founded developments of their time machine and forcing him to talk, "We have no time to stop for breaks at all."

"I don't find that to be a problem," commented Dimitri, frowning.

"Well I do," snapped Bill, "I have a life away from this place, unlike some. So I think the only way we're going to be able to keep up the pace is by hiring some help."

Shrugging, knowing that there was no way to talk Bill out of something he'd set his mind on, Dimitri replied, "Do what you like." Then he pushed the board back under the machine and continued where he left off.

This discussion was over.

As far as Dimitri was concerned Bill could hire an assistant to help him with the project, but it made very little difference to him personally. What he was concerned about was the time machine and that alone. It was probably the only thing he ever thought about, day in, day out, so pushing himself to work harder and more often on it came naturally. He wished that he could say the same of Bill, but the other man was more concerned with the rewards that came with the completed contraction than actually working on it.

Quite honestly, even though they were supposed to be a team, Dimitri knew that he was truly working by himself on the time machine. He could imagine that any help Bill brought in would make little difference to him at all.

So the days went by, wanted adverts appeared in the newspapers and Dimitri assumed that interviews were held, though he never bothered do find out from Bill how they went.

Within himself he could imagine exactly the sort of person who Bill would come back with. "Wanted: Scientist" wasn't really a common job request. Every university graduate who took science and had failed to get a career after leaving their course would be all over it. And without a doubt Bill would pick the weediest, twitchy one who'd just do what he said without answering back.

The day came when wonder-assistant was due to debut in the laboratory and it found Dimitri in the same place that he had been when Bill had proposed the idea to him – underneath the time machine, working on a few touches before he could attach the base.

"That pair of legs under there belongs to Dimitri," Bill commented, as Dimitri heard two sets of footsteps approaching. So it appeared Bill was trying to be funny with the new kid already. Brilliant.

"Yeah, hello," Dimitri muttered, sticking a hand out to wave before going back to work.

"You won't get much talk out of him. He lives and breathes this darn machine. Human contact is quite beyond him," said Bill, with the air of someone describing a demented uncle who lived in the attic to a formal house guest who was there on a day trip. 'Never you mind crazy Dimitri, just let him be.'

"Isn't that why we're here though, to devote ourselves to a project of the kind that no one has ever seen before? That's the whole reason why your advert interested me, Mr. Hawks. A lot of my co-workers said they thought you guys were crazy, but after reading Mr. Allen's thesis on time travel I think there's some solid evidence that with the right work you could pull this off. And I'd love to be on board with a project like that."

No way…

That was a woman's voice, belonging to someone who actually had some interest in what they were doing beyond 'it's a job'.

Dimitri went to scramble out from under the machine, but in his haste to look up smacked his head against one of the hanging pipes. He clutched at his forehead, gritting his teeth as Bill laughed.

"What did I tell you? No social skills whatsoever," Bill cackled.

"Are you all right?" the young lady asked, crouching down next to him.

"I-I… I'm fine, r-really…" Dimitri gulped.

She was pretty, really pretty. And rarely did Dimitri pay attention to things like that but she had just expressed a sort of interest in the project that no one other than him had ever seemed to possess, so all in all it was very easy to notice her and how very… very, um, nice she looked. But right now her face was focused into a look of genuine concern.

"This is Claire Foley," Bill told him, once he'd finished laughing at Dimitri, "She's the hired help that you've got no interest in. A fresh graduate from Gressenheller. Try not to scare her off."

"Nice to meet you," Claire said, holding out her hand.

Letting go of the bump appearing on his forehead, Dimitri gingerly shook her hand, hoping his nerves weren't all too obvious.

"Y-you too…" he mumbled.

"I'm looking forward to working on the time machine with you both," she went on, "You do look a lot different than what I imagined you would too, Mr. Allen. Scientists who release statements as… out there as yours tend to be so old, but you can't be that far out of university yourself."

"Um, I've… been working on this project since I graduated," he agreed.

There was no way that he could comment on the fact that she didn't look anything like what he'd been expecting either – since his expectations for the assistant had been some sweaty, nerdy guy who lived in his mother's basement and was desperate for cash. In contrast, Claire was bright-eyed and red-haired, dressed in a most controlled and presentable manner. Also, she was most definitely female. Probably the biggest surprise of all.

"Quite the talker, isn't he?" Bill sneered, "Come on, there's plenty more to see here that's far more interesting than this guy. Say goodbye to the pretty lady, Dimitri."

"I'll see you later," Claire cut in, before Dimitri could risk embarrassing himself further by responding to Bill's remark.

"Y-yeah, um, hope you enjoy your tour," Dimitri replied, watching them leave. He continued to stare for longer than he realised before reminding himself that there was a time machine that needed more than just fine tuning.

So then he shook his head and pulled himself back under the work-in-progress machine, taking care not to hit that pipe this time around. The rest of the day his mind drifted from Claire to the project then back to Claire again. He'd never known anyone to distract him from work so much, why was he so interested in a girl he'd only just met?

Dimitri was still there debating this with himself and failing to concentrate on work when he heard the clock chimed 10:00pm.

"He was right about you never going home," Claire commented.

His blood might as well have frozen right there. What was she still doing here at this time of night?

"I, ah, have a lot to do," Dimitri mumbled, coming out from the machine without bashing his head this time, "You've not gone home yet?"

She smirked, commenting, "I'm here for the same reason you are, so Mr. Haw- …Bill gave me a key."

"That was nice of him," said Dimitri, his eyes drawn up to the top of the time machine, where he was sure it looked a lot more complete than it had done that morning, "Was that you?"

"Yep, been working on it all afternoon," answered Claire.

"That's… really good. You didn't have to," he replied, feeling awkward that he hadn't even realised she was there while they'd been working so closely on the same machine.

"That's what an assistant is for," she reminded, "And I could also fetch a first-aid kit if you like, because that bump on your head looks nasty."

"N-no, it's fine!" Dimitri stammered.

He felt his face turn red as another wave of embarrassment ran through him. How had he managed to humiliate himself in front of Claire so thoroughly as soon as he'd met her?

"All right, if you're sure," Claire said, "But it is quite late, so I really should be getting back now. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Wait," Dimitri called, once she'd turned to leave. As Claire looked back at him, a little confused, he offered, "I'm actually finishing up here too. If you like I could walk you home- …I mean that we could walk home together. As friends! If we're both heard the same way…"

He didn't care if Claire lived on the opposite side of London to him; he was going to walk her home after that awkward statement.

"I'd like that," she giggled. Unlike when Bill laughed at him, Dimitri found that he didn't mind Claire's giggling; it seemed much less accusing and put his mind at ease.

And so the lab was closed at the earliest hour that it had been for such a long time, as the remaining two scientists headed home. If not make the project go faster, Bill's hired help had certainly managed to make Dimitri think about something other than work.

Surprisingly, Dimitri realised that he didn't mind this fact very much at all.


End file.
